2015 saw 1043 items posted on the blog, made possible by those who helped and encouraged this year by posting comments, questions, providing information, completing polls and surveys, or publicizing the blog, including;
Agrarian, Alex, Alison, Alona, Ann, Anne, Anonymous, Arlene, Arthur, Audrey,
Bankie, Barbara, Bill, Blaine, Brenda, Bob, Brian, Bruce, Bryan
Cannuk, CeCe, Celia, Chad, Charles, Chris, Christine, Claire, Cliff, Cyndi.
Daniel, Dave, David, Dawn, Debb, Debbie, Del, Dena, Denis, Derek, Devon, Di, Diana, Diane, Dianne, Dick, Don, Donald, Dorothy, Doug, Douglas.
Edward, Elayne, Elizabeth, Ellen, Else.
Gail, Gary, Geoff, Glenn, Gloria, Guy, Gwyneth,
Hazel, Heather, Heidi, Helen, Hilary, Holly, Howard, Hugh,
Ian, Infolass.
Jackie, James, Jana, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, Jennifer, Jessica, Jill, Jim, Jo, Joanne, John, Julie
Karen, Kathleen, Ken, Kerryn, Kirsty, Kitty, Kyla
Lamda, Leanne, Leighann, Lesley, Leslie, LDC, Linda, Lorine, Lorri, Louis, Louise, Lucille, Lynn, Lynne,
Malcolm, Mark, Mary, Mary Anne, Maurice, Mike, Miles.
Nancy, Nathen, Neil, Nicka, Norm.
Olga.
Pat, Patti, Paul, Pauleen, Pauline, Peggy, Persephone, Peter.
Randy, Richard, Rick, Robert, Roberta, Rod. Romaine.
Sandra, Saskey, Sharn, Sharon, Shauna, Shirley, Shirley Ann, Sophie, Stephanie, Stephen, Steve, Susan,
Tad, Tamara, Tara, Terry, Tessa, Thomas
Unknown,
Wallace, Wayne, Wendy, William
Yvette.
Included are bloggers, Facebookers and Google+ posters, tweeters and folks who send out information on new resources from various organizations from the family history community.
With apologies to anyone overlooked.
Thank you all, and not forgetting the silent majority of readers:
Happy New Year.
The British Newspaper Archive now has 12,588,119 (12,374,965 last month) pages from 556 (545) titles online.
The full list of additions this month is:
Undoubtedly the premier title for findmypast in 2015 has been the 1939 National Register. It's not listed below as it appeared as an extra cost, pay-per-view item. Crippled shortly after release by the deletion of TNA reference numbers it is arguably the most valuable resource released in 2015.
Also not listed, although available with a regular FMP subscription, and in an enhanced version by subscription to the British Newspaper Archive, is an increasing number of British and Irish newspapers digitised and searchable.
Here, in alphabetical order of title is the list of new database titles for Britain:
| Title | Month released |
|---|---|
| Anglo-Boer War update | July |
| Berkshire, Eton College Register 1441-1698 | Oct |
| Bradford FHS burials | Nov |
| Britain School & University Memorial Rolls 1914-1918 | Apr |
| Britain Trade Union Members, Service and Casualties 1914-1918 | Mar |
| Britain Trade Union Membership registers Browse | Feb |
| Britain, Absent Voters Lists 1918-1921 | Oct |
| Britain, Country Apprentices 1710-1808 | May |
| Britain, Directories & Almanacs | Sept |
| British Army Bond of Sacrifice: Officers Died in the Great War 1914-1916 | Jan |
| British Army Muster Rolls, 84th Foot 1808-1818 and 60th Foot 1879-1882 | Dec |
| British Army schoolchildren and schoolmasters 1803-1932 | July |
| British Army, Casualty Index War of 1812 | Aug |
| British Army, Deserters and Absentees in Police Gazette 1914-1919 | Aug |
| British Army, List of Half-pay Officers 1714 | July |
| British Army, Northumberland Fusiliers 1881-1920 | July |
| British Army, Royal Artillery Officer Deaths 1850-2011 | Mar |
| British Army, Royal Artillery Officers 1716-1899 | Mar |
| British Army, Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book 1914-1918 | Mar |
| British Army, Royal Artillery, 80th Field Regiment, WW2 | Mar |
| British Army, Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Service Records 1917-1920 (WO 398) | Mar |
| British Civil Service Evidence of Age | Mar |
| British in Argentina 1914-1919 | Nov |
| British in India | Dec |
| British India Office Assistant Surgeons | Dec |
| British India Office Births & Baptisms | Dec |
| British India Office Marriages | Dec |
| British India Office Wills & Probate | Dec |
| British Jewry Book of Honor 1914-1920 | Aug |
| British Mariners, Trinity House Calendars 1787-1854 | Mar |
| British Merchant Navy, First World War Medal Index Cards 1914-1925 | Feb |
| British Royal Navy, Foreign Awards to Officers Index 1914-1922 | May |
| British Women's Royal Air Force Service Records 1918-1920 (AIR 80) | Mar |
| British Women's Royal Naval Service Officer Files 1917-1919 (ADM 318) | Mar |
| British Women's Royal Naval Service Ratings' Service Registers 1918-1919 (ADM 336) | Mar |
| Cambridge baptisms | June |
| Cambridge burials | June |
| Cambridgeshire, Ely Diocese Marriage Licences 1684-1811 | Nov |
| Channel Islands, Births and Baptisms, 1820-1907 | Jan |
| City of London, Haberdashers, Apprentices and Freemen 1526-1933 | May |
| City of London, Ironmongers, Apprentices and Freemen 1511-1923 | May |
| De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour | Apr |
| Derbyshire Baptism Index 1538-1910 | Apr |
| Derbyshire Burials Index 1538-1910 | Apr |
| Derbyshire Hospital Admissions & Deaths | Aug |
| Derbyshire Marriage Index 1538-1910 | Apr |
| Derbyshire, Derby Railway Servants’ Orphanage registers 1875-1912 | Jan |
| Devon Social & Institutional records | Nov |
| Dorset Baptism Index 1538-1912 | Feb |
| Dorset Burial Index 1538-1986 | Feb |
| Dorset Marriage Index 1541-1937 | Feb |
| England & Wales Merchant Navy Crew Lists 1861-1913 | May |
| England & Wales, Crime, Prisons and Punishment | July |
| England & Wales, Electoral Registers 1832-1932 | Oct |
| England & Wales, electoral registers 1832-1932 Browse | Nov |
| England & Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Births | Apr |
| England & Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Burials | Apr |
| England & Wales, Society of Friends (Quaker) Marriages | Apr |
| England BillionGraves Cemetery Index | May |
| Essex banns Index 1754-1950 | Jan |
| Essex baptisms Index 1538-1900 | Jan |
| Essex burial Index 1538-1900 | Jan |
| Essex marriage index 1538-1900 | Jan |
| Essex Wills Beneficiaries Index, 1505-1916 | Apr |
| Essex, Clacton Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Mar |
| Gloucestershire Baptisms, Marriages and Burials | Feb |
| Greater London Burial Index | June |
| Hampshire, Portsmouth electoral rolls 1835-1873 | Dec |
| Hertfordshire baptisms | Aug |
| Hertfordshire burials | Aug |
| Hertfordshire marriages | Aug |
| Home Office and Prison Commission: Male Licences 1853-1887 | July |
| Home Office and Prison Commission: Prisons records (PCOM 2) | July |
| Home Office: Convict Hulks, Convict Prisons and Criminal Lunatic Asylums: Quarterly Returns of Prisoners 1824-1876 | July |
| Home Office: Criminal Entry Books 1782-1871 | July |
| Home Office: Newgate Prison Calendar 1782-1853 | July |
| Home Office: Old Captions and Transfer Papers 1843-1871 | July |
| Hue & Cry Index 1797-1810 | June |
| Isle of Man, Births and Baptisms, 1821-1911 | Jan |
| Isle of Man, Deaths and Burials, 1844-1911 | Jan |
| Isle of Man, Marriages, 1849-1911 | Jan |
| Judges Report on Criminals (HO47) | July |
| Kent Banns | June |
| Kent Baptisms | June |
| Kent Burials | June |
| Kent Marriages | June |
| Kent, Canterbury Archdeaconry Banns 1754-1928 | Sept |
| Kent, Canterbury Archdeaconry Baptisms 1538-1912 | Sept |
| Kent, Canterbury Archdeaconry Burials 1538-1988 | Sept |
| Kent, Canterbury Archdeaconry Marriages 1538-1928 | Sept |
| Kent, Canterbury Archdeaconry Parish Registers Browse, 1538-1913 | Sept |
| Kindertransport | Jan |
| Kindertransport browse | Jan |
| Lancashire, Manchester Cholera Victims 1832 | Feb |
| Leicestershire Baptisms | Dec |
| Leicestershire Burials | Dec |
| Lincolnshire, Parish Registers Surname Search, 1695-1911 | Mar |
| Lloyds of London Memorial Roll 1914-1918 | Nov |
| Lloyd's Register of Merchant Ships Index 1843 | Nov |
| London, Bethlem Hospital Patient Admission Registers and Casebooks 1683-1932 browse | Mar |
| London, Bethlem Hospital Patient Admission Registers and Casebooks 1683-1932 search | Mar |
| London, Docklands and East End Marriages 1558-1859 | Jan |
| London, Dulwich College Register 1619-1926 | Oct |
| London, Watermen in Royal Navy, 1803-1809 | Nov |
| London, Watermen, Admiralty muster of the Port of London, 1628 | Nov |
| London, Watermen, birth register of contracted men, 1865-1921 | Nov |
| London, Watermen, list of free watermen, 1827 | Nov |
| London, Watermen's petition for the King Charles I, 1648 | Nov |
| Manchester Electoral Registers Browse 1832-1900 | Aug |
| Metropolitan Police: Criminal Record Office: habitual criminals' registers and miscellaneous papers | July |
| Mid Norfolk Monumental Inscriptions 1471-2012 | Jan |
| National School Admission Registers & Log-Books 1870-1914 | Apr |
| National School Admission Registers 1870-1914 | Sept |
| Norfolk parish registers browse | July |
| North West Kent Baptisms | June |
| North West Kent Baptisms | May |
| North West Kent Baptisms | Feb |
| North West Kent Burials | June |
| North West Kent Burials | May |
| North West Kent Burials | Feb |
| North West Kent Marriages | June |
| North West Kent Marriages | Feb |
| Northumberland Baptisms | Aug |
| Nottinghamshire baptisms | May |
| Nottinghamshire baptisms 1538 -1980 | Jan |
| Nottinghamshire burials | May |
| Nottinghamshire burials - 1539-1905 | Jan |
| Nottinghamshire marriages 1528-1929 | Jan |
| Plymouth Plague Rate 1627-1629 | Dec |
| Prisoners of War 1715-1945 | June |
| Prisoners of War 1914-1920 | Apr |
| Prisoners Of War 1939-1945 | Sept |
| Probate Calendars of England & Wales 1858-1959 | Aug |
| Probate Calendars of England & Wales 1858-1959 Browse | Aug |
| Registers of Criminal Petitions (HO18) | July |
| Registers of Criminal Petitions (HO19) | July |
| Royal Artillery Honours & Awards | Feb |
| Royal Hibernian Military School admissions 1847-1932 | July |
| Scotland BillionGraves Cemetery Index | May |
| Scotland, Linlithgowshire (West Lothian), Electoral Registers 1864-1931 | Oct |
| Scottish Covenanters 1679-1688 | Aug |
| Shropshire, Shrewsbury St Julian's parish, 1831 census | July |
| South Africa Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Apr |
| Staffordshire Banns | Aug |
| Staffordshire Baptisms | Aug |
| Staffordshire Burials | Aug |
| Staffordshire Dioceses of Lichfield & Coventry wills and probate 1521-1858 | Dec |
| Staffordshire Marriages | Aug |
| Staffordshire, Parish Registers Browse, 1538-1900 | Aug |
| Staffordshire, Parish Registers Browse, 1538-1900 | June |
| Stock Exchange Memorial Roll 1914-1918 | Nov |
| Surrey, military tribunals 1915-1918 | Nov |
| Surrey, Southwark St George the Martyr Workhouse records | Apr |
| Surrey, Southwark, St George the Martyr Mortuary Register 1880-1891 | May |
| Surrey, Southwark, St Saviour Poor Relief 1818-1821 | June |
| Surrey, Southwark, St Saviour's Grammar School Admissions 1690-1895 | Sept |
| Sussex, Eastbourne Gazette newspaper notices 1858-1931 | Jan |
| Sussex, Lancing College Register 1901-1954 | Oct |
| Treasury Departmental Accounts Convict Hulks (TNA Ref: T 38/310-338) | July |
| Wales BillionGraves Cemetery Index | May |
| Warwickshire baptism Index 1538-1900 | Jan |
| Warwickshire burial Index 1538-1900 | Jan |
| Warwickshire marriage Index 1538-1900 | Jan |
| Wiltshire Baptisms | Feb |
| Wiltshire, Salisbury Wills Index, 1464-1858 | Mar |
| Yorkshire Banns | Apr |
| Yorkshire Baptisms | Apr |
| Yorkshire Burials | Apr |
| Yorkshire Marriages | Apr |
| Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts of Baptisms | Apr |
| Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts of Burials | Apr |
| Yorkshire, Bishop's Transcripts of Marriages | Apr |
| Yorkshire, Craven's Part in the Great War | Apr |
| Title | Month released |
|---|---|
| Church of Ireland parish record search forms | Aug |
| Clare Electoral Registers 1858-1989 | Jan |
| Clare Poor Law Unions Board Of Guardians Minute Books | June |
| Dublin Poor Law Unions Board of Guardians Minute Books | May |
| Dublin Poor Law Unions Board of Guardians Minute Books Browse | May |
| Dublin Workhouses Admission & Discharge Registers 1840-1919 | May |
| Ireland 1901 Census | Mar |
| Ireland 1911 Census Search | Jan |
| Ireland BillionGraves Cemetery Index | May |
| Ireland Diocesan and Prerogative Marriage Licence Bonds Indexes 1623-1866 | Mar |
| Ireland Diocesan and Prerogative Wills & Administration Indexes 1595-1858 | Mar |
| Ireland Marriages 1619-1898 | Jan |
| Ireland National Roll of Honour 1914-1921 | Feb |
| Ireland National School Registers | Sept |
| Ireland, Clare County Government Proceedings 1732 – 1882 | Apr |
| Ireland, Electoral Registers 1885-1886 | Oct |
| Ireland, Poverty Relief Loans 1821-1874 | Jan |
| Irish Army Census 1922 | July |
| Sligo Workhouse Admission and Discharge Registers 1848-1859 | June |
15 new titles with nearly 2.4 million records were added to the Ancestry collection in 2015. The largest was Canada, Selected School Yearbooks, 1908-2010 with over 1.3 million records.
| Title | Records |
|---|---|
| U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, 1856-1970 | 52,945 |
| U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Membership Records, 1856-1970 | 210,144 |
| Web: Alberta, Newspaper BMD Index, 1889 - 2012 | 37,572 |
| Web: Montreal, Canada, non-Catholic Burial Index, 1767-1899 (in French) | 55,896 |
| Web: Montreal, Canada, non-Catholic Marriage Index, 1766-1899 (in French) | 64,274 |
| Canada, WWII Service Files of War Dead, 1939-1947 | 29,126 |
| Web: Montreal, Canada, non-Catholic Baptism Index, 1766-1835 (in French) | 13,246 |
| Web: Alberta, Index to Cemeteries, 1823-2013 | 174,244 |
| Web: Quebec, Canada, Marriage Contract Index, 1761-1941 (in French) | 71,098 |
| Canada and U.S., Dutch Emigrants, 1946-1963 | 19,083 |
| Canada, Selected School Yearbooks, 1908-2010 | 1,355,141 |
| U.S., Passenger and Crew Lists for U.S.-Bound Vessels Arriving in Canada, 1912-1939 and 1953-1962 | 93,258 |
| Canada, Imperial War Service Gratuities, 1919-1921 | 17,702 |
| U.S., Residents Serving in Canadian Expeditionary Forces, 1917-1918 | 23,291 |
| Canada, Quaker Meeting Records, 1786-1988 | 148,443 |
The many visits to the "Very Model of a . . ." post, and never fearing to over to a good thing, prompts posting this video of the Tom Lehrer song The Elements.
Daniel Radcliffe shows his magic in this version
For those tired of the tune but who can can stand another version!
Nearly 24.8 million records were added 43 new titles for the Ancestry UK collection in 2015. Gloucestershire was particularly well served with 10.3 million records from that county. Another 2.6 million were bishops transcripts from Norfolk. The table below does not include updates, of which there were many, notably Poor Law records from the London Metropolitan Archives.
| Title | Records |
|---|---|
| Norfolk, England, Bishop's Transcripts, 1685-1941 | 2,614,408 |
| Web: Gloucestershire, England, Non-Conformist Baptisms Index, 1739-1987 | 24,206 |
| England, United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers, 1751-1921 | 1,713,246 |
| Surrey, England, Regimental Rolls, 1914-1947 | 114,251 |
| UK, WWII Civil Defence Gallantry Awards, 1940-1949 | 5,763 |
| Perth and Kinross, Scotland, Electoral Registers, 1832-1961 | 2,464,817 |
| Scotland, National Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 1876-1936 | 654,826 |
| England, Suffragettes Arrested, 1906-1914 | 1,339 |
| Leeds, England, Beckett Street Cemetery, 1845-1987 | 187,851 |
| West Yorkshire, England, Select Removal and Settlement Records, 1689-1866 | 14,195 |
| UK, City, Town and Village Photos, 1857-2005 | 220,149 |
| UK, Apprentices Indentured in Merchant Navy, 1824-1910 | 342,282 |
| UK, British Army Muster Books and Pay Lists, 1812-1817 | 467,370 |
| Surrey, England, Mental Hospital Admissions, 1867-1900 | 11,670 |
| Surrey, England, Calendar of Prisoners, 1848-1902 | 25,846 |
| Web: United Kingdom, Royal Naval Officers' Service Records Index, 1756-1931 | 66,212 |
| Lancashire, England, Quarter Session Records and Petitions, 1648-1908 | 1,218,050 |
| Web: UK, Jersey, Channel Islands, Wills and Testaments, 1663-1948 | 20,908 |
| Web: UK, Jersey, Channel Islands, Occupation Registration Cards, 1940-1945 | 37,271 |
| West Yorkshire, England, Occupation Records, 1793-1930 | 46,225 |
| West Yorkshire, England, Alehouse Licences, 1771-1962 | 76,239 |
| West Yorkshire, England, Select Apprenticeship Records, 1627-1894 | 6,982 |
| UK, Popular Edition Maps, 1919-1926 | 176,561 |
| UK, WWI War Diaries (Gallipoli and Dardanelles), 1914-1916 | 33,350 |
| UK, WWI War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920 | 402,770 |
| Web: Gloucestershire, England, Gaol Registers, 1815-1879 | 31,497 |
| Bexley, Kent, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1985 | 49,848 |
| Bexley, Kent, England, Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1558-1812 | 27,113 |
| Bexley, Kent, England, Cemetery Registers, 1879-1985 | 53,843 |
| Bexley, Kent, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1925 | 67,801 |
| Bexley, Kent, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935 | 61,801 |
| UK, Electrical Engineer WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1924, 1949 | 378 |
| UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1900-1928 | 388,864 |
| West Yorkshire, England, Select Poor Law and Township Records, 1663-1914 | 53,139 |
| West Yorkshire, England, Estate Rentals, 1380-1932 | 7,713 |
| Gloucestershire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938 | 1,489,053 |
| Gloucestershire, England, Baptisms, 1813-1913 | 3,162,197 |
| Gloucestershire, England, Confirmations, 1834-1913 | 14,295 |
| Gloucestershire, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813 | 4,839,232 |
| Gloucestershire, England, Burials, 1813-1988 | 821,508 |
| England and Wales, Death Index, 2007-2013 | 1,492,727 |
| Scotland and Northern Ireland, Death Index, 1989-2013 | 413,517 |
| UK, Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929 | 872,395 |
| Title | Records |
|---|---|
| Web: Ireland, Census Search Forms 1841, 1851 | 150,860 |
| Web: Ireland, Gravestone Index, 1600-2012 | 57,590 |
| Ireland, Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland Membership Registers, 1733-1923 | 318,964 |
| Web: Ireland, Trade Directory, 1931 | 13,000 |
| Web: Dublin, Ireland, Wilson's Directory, 1820 | 7,721 |
| Web: Ireland, Wills of Irish Soldiers Who Died in the British Army, 1897-1922 | 9,360 |
FamilySearch made 30 additions and updates to titles in the British and Irish collection online in 2015. The big new addition was parish register records for Wales added in August.
| Title | Records | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|
| England, Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Parish Registers, 1603-1910 | 1,727,712 | 18 Dec 2015 |
| Wales, Glamorgan, West Glamorgan, Electoral Registers, 1839-1925 | 1,643,483 | 16 Dec 2015 |
| England, Kent, Parish Registers, 1538-1911 | 579,777 | 16 Dec 2015 |
| England, Kent, Register of Electors, 1570-1907 | 4,706,636 | 16 Dec 2015 |
| England, Lancashire, Parish Registers 1538-1910 | 1,214,837 | 16 Dec 2015 |
| England and Wales Census, 1851 | 17,745,148 | 12-Nov-15 |
| United Kingdom, World War I Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Records, 1917-1920 | 155,933 | 06-Nov-15 |
| England and Wales Census, 1891 | 29,048,338 | 15-Oct-15 |
| England and Wales Census, 1881 | 26,124,851 | 13-Oct-15 |
| Isle of Man Parish Registers, 1598-2009 | 447,486 | 09-Oct-15 |
| England, Dorset, Parish Registers, 1538-1936 | 1,288,325 | 08-Oct-15 |
| England, Warwickshire Parish Registers, 1535-1984 | 1,196,651 | 22-Sep-15 |
| England and Wales Census, 1841 | 15,782,939 | 15-Sep-15 |
| Wales, Glamorganshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 753,759 | 31-Aug-15 |
| England and Wales Census, 1901 | 34,138,955 | 29-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Radnorshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 115,726 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Pembrokeshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 378,652 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Monmouthshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 432,421 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Montgomeryshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 416,043 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Denbighshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 718,898 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Flintshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 518,354 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Merionethshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 146,135 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Carmarthenshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 481,167 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Cardiganshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 95,420 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Caernarvonshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 281,126 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Brecknockshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 220,591 | 21-Aug-15 |
| Wales, Anglesey, Parish Registers, 1538-1912 | 203,430 | 21-Aug-15 |
| England and Wales Census, 1871 | 22,925,080 | 27-Jul-15 |
| Ireland, Petty Sessions Court Registers, 1828-1912 | 21,833,785 | 24-Jun-15 |
| England, London Electoral Registers, 1847-1913 | 17,760,894 | 18-May-15 |
| England, Cornwall and Devon Parish Registers, 1538-2010 | 171,083 | 14-Apr-15 |
| England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537-1918 | 1,474,822 | 07-Apr-15 |
| England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900 | 10,026,835 | 03-Apr-15 |
| United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920 | 4,334,618 | 27-Mar-15 |
| Ireland Census Search Forms, 1841 and 1851 | 136,152 | 19-Feb-15 |
It's easy to miss new record sets that become available through FamilySearch, and even easier to overlook updates, unless you scan the catalog listing. Here are the 27 Canadian additions and updates made in the past year with the most recent at the top.
| Title | Records | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|
| Manitoba Probate Records, 1871-1930 | 51,868 | 01-Dec-15 |
| Ontario Births, 1869-1910 | 2,094,890 | 28-Oct-15 |
| Nova Scotia Delayed Births, 1837-1904 | 143,618 | 27-Oct-15 |
| British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932; 1937 | 143,411 | 09-Oct-15 |
| British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993 | 1,216,343 | 05-Oct-15 |
| Quebec, Quebec Federation of Genealogical Societies, Family Origins, 1621-1865 | 5,996 | 25-Sep-15 |
| Prince Edward Island Death Card Index, 1721-1905 | 16,778 | 21-Sep-15 |
| Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947 | 2,050,112 | 21-Jul-15 |
| Nova Scotia Deaths, 1864-1877 | Browse Images | 26-Jun-15 |
| Nova Scotia Marriages, 1864-1918 | Browse Images | 26-Jun-15 |
| Nova Scotia Births, 1864-1877 | Browse Images | 26-Jun-15 |
| Newfoundland Vital Records, 1840-1949 | 363,845 | 10-Jun-15 |
| Quebec Index to Civil Copy of Church Records, 1642-1902 | Browse Images | 29-May-15 |
| Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927 | 1,822,298 | 28-May-15 |
| Newfoundland Vital Statistics, 1753-1893 | 192,403 | 08-May-15 |
| Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922 | 3,874,103 | 06-May-15 |
| Saskatchewan, Catholic Church Records, 1846-1957 | 40,494 | 01-May-15 |
| Saskatchewan Cemetery Transcripts, ca. 1850-1994 | 164,737 | 29-Apr-15 |
| Nova Scotia Deaths, 1890-1955 | 342,684 | 23-Apr-15 |
| Nova Scotia Deaths, 1956-1957 | 12,185 | 23-Apr-15 |
| Newfoundland Census, 1945 | 328,362 | 22-Apr-15 |
| Newfoundland Census, 1935 | 296,231 | 22-Apr-15 |
| Newfoundland Census, 1921 | 218,865 | 20-Mar-15 |
| Canada Census, 1911 | 7,246,159 | 19-Mar-15 |
| Nova Scotia Marriages, 1907-1932 | 67,484 | 11-Mar-15 |
| Prince Edward Island Marriage Registers, 1832-1888 | 20,548 | 11-Mar-15 |
| New Brunswick Provincial Marriages 1789-1950 | 316,327 | 06-Mar-15 |
| Canadian Headstones | 1,006,536 | 20-Feb-15 |
| Ontario, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1989 | 150,838 | 09-Jan-15 |
ALL Archive CD Books Canada Canadian digital resources are marked down for a limited time!
Most are marked down to 50% off their regular price!
How to recognize the "Canadian" products on our online catalogue? - Their Catalogue Number start with "CA", so: CA0__, CAG__, CAB__, and CAI__ Well, that and the BIG GREEN SALE STICKER is a bit of a hint too. :)
To search for all Canadian products. Click on the “Search” in the left hand column and type, or paste, in one of the following:
sku:CA**** For ALL Canadian products
sku:CA0*** For just Canadian CD products
sku:CAB*** For just Canadian products on British & UK topics
sku:CAI*** For just Canadian products on Irish topics
sku:CAG*** For Canadian Gleanings products (all topics)
Digital Downloads and Gleanings are available AS SOON AS YOU BUY THEM. The CDs have to wait until Canada Post is back in action and can get them to you, but we should be able to get them into the first outgoing mail.
BONUS: Just available. The Alan Lomax Sound Archive now online, features a 17,000 treasure trove of songs (blues and folk) and interviews recorded by the legendary folklorist Alan Lomax from the 1940s into the 1990s. Now digitized and made available online for free listening. While Lomax is best known for his US recordings the collection includes material from the UK and Ireland and many other places internationally - excepting Canada!
This version to the Gilbert and Sullivan patter song has subtitles in case you've never quite got the lyrics.
Some examples of variations on the theme:
I am the very model of a Cartoon Individual
I Am the Very Model of a Biblical Philologist
I am the very model of a singularitarian
I Am The Very Model Of A Wrimo Individual
For those lamenting a lack of snow at Christmas spend some time with Dylan Thomas reading his poem" A Child's Christmas in Wales."
YouTube has many other versions I came across while searching the fate of Welsh born Jennie Margaret Child. She was born in Carmarthen in 1903, is been found in several records with my Marmon family members in the 1910s, then disappears. Her mother Jane (Marmon) Child died shortly after she was born.
If Santa wanted to be really good to me this Christmas he'd provide a clue to a later record showing what happened to Jennie.
The FreeBMD Database was updated on Thursday 24 December 2015 to contain 251,294,896 distinct records, a huge increase of 3,664,680 records. Years with major updates, more than 5,000 new entries, are for births: 1940, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973-75; for marriages:1965-66, 1968-69, 1971-76; for deaths: 1973, 1976.
Thanks to all involved with FreeBMD during 2015 for their work to make this valuable facility freely available to all.
This seasonably appropriate short item from the Royal Canadian Air Farce was the most popular last year.
2.8 million more records now available to view in the 1939 Register! -- that's the headline on a blog post from Find My Past's 1939 Register team.
This is correcting an error when information for 2.8 million people that should have been released when the register database was opened was withheld. Those people are deceased but apparently FMP and TNA had been unable to agree on a means of cross-referencing the 1939 Register with the General Register Office's England and Wales civil registration death indexes, 1969-2006. That's even though date of birth is recorded in each dataset.
Correcting the error still leaves a large number of people whose information is being unnecessarily withheld, particularly those who died outside England and Wales during the Second World War and are recorded in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database.
Still searching for a gift for the hard-to-buy-for genealogist? Here are some Canadian opportunities in 2016 you might consider.
Lesley's Grand Tour of Ireland was mentioned back in September. Wouldn't it be great to receive as a gift a tour of Ireland "With plenty of time for research & fun for all!" starting and ending in Dublin. Lesley Anderson is conducting it from April 16 to May 2, 2016. More details at https://goo.gl/3fjEkw
The Great Canadian Genealogy Summit, scheduled for October 21 - 23, 2016 at the Courtyard Marriott in Brampton, Ontario, is an opportunity to hear presentations from some of Canada's leading genealogists.
OGS Conference 3-5 June 2016 in Toronto has a stellar line-up of speakers and a convenient location. Registration won’t be open until January.
A magazine subscription for Internet Genealogy, Your Genealogy Today, or History Magazine, all from Moorshead Magazines.
A membership in the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, the Ontario Genealogical Society or the family history society for your region.
A genealogist gift doesn't have to be genealogical. For someone who has everything consider those who don't. A donation to one of the top rated charitable organizations identified by https://www.charityintelligence.ca/ is appreciated at any time of year.
Deceased Online tweeted out that "A large set of records for probably the oldest council-managed cemetery in the English Midlands will go live on www.deceasedonline.com over the Christmas period." Included were images of part of the burial register from August 1841.
It didn't take long using FreeBMD and the names in the images to determine the cemetery location in the Nottingham area.
Deceased Online's page for Nottingham includes the paragraph "There remains one substantial cemetery location with records yet to be digitsed and added to the website. We are currently working on the registers for General Cemetery; opened in 1836. By 1929, when it closed for new graves, there were already over 150,000 burials. We hope to add all records later in 2015."
Voila . . . Nottingham General Cemetery.
Find out more about the cemetery at www.ournottinghamshire.org.uk/page_id__721.aspx.
According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission there are
332 First World War burials in Nottingham General Cemetery, many made from the Bagthorpe War Hospital and other war hospitals in the city. More than 100 of these graves form a war plot, with the names of the dead inscribed on an adjoining Screen Wall. There are also ten Second World War burials in the cemetery, and one Belgian grave.UPDATE: See this article on the Deceased Online -blog http://deceasedonlineblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/nottingham-collection.html
“But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,' faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.Go to Ancestry.com's mission statement and you'll find the word community used three times, but in the context of the company being a facilitator not a member. Where's the friendly face, an organization that's part of the community, not just a business serving it?
Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The deals of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”
As genealogy news becomes scarce over the holiday period, as in previous years I'm posting some interesting favourite items that may be of interest.
Like most folks I overlooked the 40th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Before getting into Yuletide fare here is a version of the Gordon Lightfoot composed tribute by Toronto’s Cadence with a completely 100 percent ‘a cappella’ arrangement.
Cadence (Kurt Sampson, Lucas Marchand, Ross Lynde, Carl Berger, David Lane) pairs with world renowned multi-award winning Ukrainian sand animation artist Kseniya Simonova – winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent.
Thanks to Colin Henein for playing this on CKCU's Music from the Glen.
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council posted results of competition awards earlier this week. Frankly there are thin pickings but here are some of potential interest to family historians.
Insight Development Grants: February 2015 Competition Awards
Stanley-Blackwell, Laurie - St. Francis Xavier University $60,899
Linkletter, Michael - St. Francis Xavier University
Centring Death: Scottish Immigrant Identity and Nova Scotian Cemeteries
Insight Grants: October 2014 Competition Awards
Milligan, Ian E. - University of Waterloo $257,541
Ruest, Nicholas J. - York University
Turkel, William J. - The University of Western Ontario
McAlorum, Andrew - University of Waterloo
A longitudinal analysis of the Canadian World Wide Web as a historical resource, 1996-2014
Partnership Development Grants: November 2014 Competition Awards
Applicant Brian Detlor McMaster University
Co-applicant David Smith McMaster University
Maureen Hupfer McMaster University
Walter Peace McMaster University
Partner City of Hamilton HAMILTON ON
Hamilton Public Library HAMILTON ON
McMaster University HAMILTON ON
Title: Love your city; share Your stories: the use of digital storytelling by municipal cultural organizations as a promotion of place
Years: 3 Funding: $199,789.00
Applicant Marcel Fortin University of Toronto
Co-applicant
Donald Lafreniere Michigan Technological University
John Lutz University of Victoria
Léon Robichaud Université de Sherbrooke
Collaborator
Colleen Beard Brock University
Geoffrey Cunfer University of Saskatchewan
Howard Glenn Brauen University of Toronto
Jennifer Bonnell McMaster University
Jim Clifford University of Saskatchewan
Joshua MacFadyen The University of Western Ontario
Kenneth Sylvester University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Larry Laliberte University of Alberta
Marc St-Hilaire Université Laval
Robert Sweeny Memorial University of Newfoundland
Partner
ESRI Canada TORONTO ON
The Neptis Foundation TORONTO ON
Toronto Green Community TORONTO ON
University of Alberta EDMONTON AB
University of Toronto TORONTO ON
University of Victoria VICTORIA BC
Title: Canadian historical geographic information systems partnership
Years: 2 Funding: $193,008.00
There are a few other grants of potential interest for graduate student and post-doctoral projects. Check out
